A motor vehicle body typically includes a plurality of vertical body panels having respective ones of a plurality of inverted U-shaped openings therein referred to as "wheel wells" through which access is had to dirigible road wheels of the motor vehicle. Each vertical panel is usually structurally reinforced around the peripheral edge of the wheel well therein by an integral, inward-turned "mounting flange" perpendicular to the vertical panel.
Commonly, the peripheral edge of the wheel well is shrouded by a body side molding referred to as a "wheel flare" which includes a face generally parallel to the vertical panel and a flange generally perpendicular to the face. An inner surface of the wheel flare face has a strip of pressure sensitive adhesive ("PSA") tape thereon adjacent a peripheral edge of the face. An exposed surface of the PSA tape is covered by a protective film to prevent contamination. The wheel flare flange is clamped to the mounting flange on the vertical panel by a plurality of self-locking fasteners pushed through aligned pairs of apertures in the wheel flare flange and the mounting flange. Concurrently, the protective film is removed from the PSA tape to adhesively bond the peripheral edge of the wheel flare face to the vertical panel. If the protective film is torn during removal from the PSA tape, installation of the wheel flare on the vehicle body is delayed and the expense associated with the installation increased. A method according to this invention of mounting a wheel flare or other body side molding with PSA tape thereon on a panel of a motor vehicle body facilitates removal of the protective film from the PSA tape without tearing and is, therefore, an improvement over heretofore known methods of mounting such wheel flares or other body side moldings.